disaster in japan. a massive military relief and recovery operation is under way in japan this morning, after that 8.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the island. >>> an explosion at a nuclear power plant has raised fears of a meltdown. hundreds are dead, and that number will most certainly rise. we have full coverage "early" this saturday morning, march we have full coverage "early" this saturday morning, march 12th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs >>> video from less than 30 hours ago in japan, devastating earthquake, 8.9 magnitude. at this hour the official death toll almost 600. and there are other big problems looming this morning. welcome to "the early show" on this saturday morning, i'm russ mitchell. >> and i'm rebecca jarvis. we will continue to follow this story as it develops throughout the morning. >> let's get right to the earthquake in japan, of course. the quake is the fifth largest in recorded history. it was followed by a 23-foot high tsunami. the official death count is 574 dead. t